Dehumidifier

ABSTRACT

A dehumidifier according to an embodiment comprises: a dehumidifier main body provided with a suction port for suctioning air and a discharge port for discharging dehumidified air to the outside; an evaporator disposed in the dehumidifier main body and removing moisture in the air suctioned through the suction port; and a compressor connected to the evaporator inside the dehumidifier main body and compressing a refrigerant for exchanging heat with the air inside the evaporator, wherein dehumidified water can be generated on the surface of the evaporator, and removed therefrom by means of the vibration of the compressor.

TECHNICAL FIELD

One or more example embodiments relate to a dehumidifier and, moreparticularly, to a dehumidifier that transfers a vibration of acompressor to effectively remove dehumidification water generated on asurface of an evaporator therefrom.

BACKGROUND ART

In most cases, a dehumidifier may employ a cooling-type dehumidificationthat removes humidity by condensing moisture contained in air while theair passing through an evaporator based on a refrigeration cycle.

Such dehumidifier may include a case that forms an appearance, a faninstalled in the case to suction external air, a dehumidifying mean thatremoves moisture by condensing humidity contained in the suctioned air,and a water tank in which water generated in the dehumidifying mean isstored.

The dehumidifying mean may include a compressor that compresses agaseous refrigerant at a high temperature and a high pressure, acondenser that condenses the refrigerant gas discharged from thecompressor with the high temperature and the high pressure, and anevaporator that evaporates a low-pressure refrigerant having passedthrough the evaporator and a capillary (inflation tube).

In such dehumidifier, a refrigerant is circulated by the compressor fromthe evaporator, through the condenser and the capillary, to theevaporator again. When air is suctioned into a case due to rotation ofthe fan, the suctioned air may be cooled by the refrigerant to be belowthe dew point while passing the evaporator and condensed such thatmoisture contained in the air is formed to be waterdrop, and thenremoved.

In this instance, to prevent degradation in heat exchange efficiency dueto the humidity generated on the heat exchanger, the humidity needs tobe quickly removed.

For example, Korea Patent Application No. 10-2014-0133285 filed on Oct.2, 2014 discloses a dehumidifier.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Goals

An aspect provides a dehumidifier that effectively removes moisture (ordehumidification water) generated on a surface of a heat exchanger(particularly, the dehumidifier) therefrom using a vibration of acompressor.

Another aspect provides a dehumidifier that quickly removes moisture (ordehumidification water) generated on a surface of a heat exchanger(particularly, the dehumidifier), thereby improving a heat exchangeefficiency of the heat exchanger and improving a dehumidifyingperformance or dehumidifying efficiency of the dehumidifier.

Still another aspect provides a dehumidifier that prevents a vibrationgenerated in a compressor from being transferred to a dehumidifier bodyand allows the vibration to be effectively transferred to thedehumidifier.

Technical Solutions

According to an aspect, there is provided a dehumidifier including adehumidifier body having an inlet through which air is suctioned and anoutlet through which dehumidified air is discharged to an outside, anevaporator disposed in the dehumidifier body to remove moisture in theair suctioned through the inlet, and a compressor connected to theevaporator in the dehumidifier body to compress a refrigerant forexchanging heat with the air in the evaporator, wherein dehumidificationwater is generated on a surface of the evaporator and thedehumidification water is removed from the surface of the evaporator dueto a vibration of the compressor.

The dehumidifier may further include a housing configured to accommodatethe evaporator and the compressor therein. The housing may be attachedto a bottom surface of the dehumidifier body.

The dehumidifier may further include a vibration absorbing memberdisposed in the dehumidifier body to absorb the vibration generated inthe compressor. The vibration absorbing member may include a damperconfigured to connect a lower surface of the housing and the bottomsurface of the dehumidifier body, a grommet spaced apart from thedamper, the lower surface of the housing being located therebetween, anda fixing element configured to fix the compressor in the housing. Thevibration may be absorbed by the damper or the grommet.

The dehumidifier may further include a vibration transfer memberconfigured to transfer the vibration generated in the compressor to theevaporator. The vibration transfer member may include the housing or arefrigerant line configured to connect the compressor and theevaporator.

A dehumidification water tray may be disposed below the evaporator inthe housing. The dehumidification water may move from a surface of theevaporator toward the dehumidification water tray.

The dehumidifier may further include a condenser disposed in the housingto be spaced apart from the evaporator in parallel to an exhaustdirection.

According to another aspect, there is also provided a dehumidifierincluding a dehumidifier body having an inlet through which air issuctioned and an outlet through which dehumidified air is discharged toan outside, a housing mounted in the dehumidifier body, an evaporatordisposed in an upper part of the housing to remove moisture in airsuctioned from the outside, and a compressor disposed in a lower part ofthe housing to compress a refrigerant for exchanging heat with the airin the evaporator, wherein the evaporator and the compressor areconnected to each other such that a vibration generated in thecompressor is transferred to the evaporator.

The dehumidifier body may include a damper configured to connect a lowersurface of the housing and a bottom surface of the dehumidifier body, agrommet spaced apart from the damper, the lower surface of the housingbeing located therebetween, and a fixing element configured to extendfrom an inner surface of the housing toward a side surface of thecompressor through the grommet. The damper or the grommet may beconfigured to absorb the vibration generated in the compressor.

Dehumidification water may be generated on a surface of the evaporator.The vibration of the compressor may be transferred to the evaporatorsuch that the dehumidification water is removed from the surface of theevaporator.

Effects

According to example embodiments, it is possible to effectively removemoisture (or dehumidification water) generated on a surface of a heatexchanger (particularly, a dehumidifier) therefrom using a vibration ofa compressor.

According to example embodiments, it is possible to quickly removemoisture (or dehumidification water) generated on a surface of a heatexchanger (particularly, a dehumidifier), thereby improving a heatexchange efficiency of the heat exchanger and improving a dehumidifyingperformance or dehumidifying efficiency of the dehumidifier.

According to example embodiments, it is possible to prevent a vibrationgenerated in a compressor from being transferred to a dehumidifier bodyand allow the vibration to be effectively transferred to a dehumidifier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a dehumidifier according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an internal structure of a dehumidifier according toan example embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of removing dehumidification water from asurface of an evaporator.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, example embodiments will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood,however, that there is no intent to limit this disclosure to theparticular example embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, exampleembodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the example embodiments.

Although terms such as “first,” “second,” and “third” may be used hereinto describe various members, components, regions, layers, or sections,these members, components, regions, layers, or sections are not to belimited by these terms. Throughout the specification, when an element,such as a layer, region, or substrate, is described as being “on,”“connected to,” or “coupled to” another element, it may be directly“on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” the other element, or there may beone or more other elements intervening therebetween.

Regarding the reference numerals assigned to the elements in thedrawings, it should be noted that the same elements will be designatedby the same reference numerals, wherever possible, even though they areshown in different drawings. Also, in the description of embodiments,detailed description of well-known related structures or functions willbe omitted when it is deemed that such description will cause ambiguousinterpretation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a dehumidifier according to anexample embodiment, FIG. 2 illustrates an internal structure of adehumidifier according to an example embodiment, and FIG. 3 illustratesan example of removing dehumidification water from a surface of anevaporator.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a dehumidifier 10 may include a dehumidifierbody 100 and a heat exchanger 200.

The dehumidifier body 100 may be a device for dehumidifying externalhumid air to be dry air. The dehumidifier body 100 may have an inlet 102on one side to suction the external humid air and an outlet 104 on theother side to discharge the dry air. Grills may be disposed at the inlet102 and the outlet 104.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates that the inlet 102 is formed in an upperportion of a front surface of the dehumidifier body 100 and the outlet104 is formed in an upper surface of the dehumidifier body 100,arrangements of the inlet 102 and the outlet 104 are not limited theretoand may be variously changed depending on a design and a condition ofthe dehumidifier 100.

A wheel 1110 may be attached to the dehumidifier body 100. The wheel 110is disposed below the dehumidifier body 100 such that the dehumidifierbody 100 is moved with increased convenience. For example, thedehumidifier body 100 may be conveniently moved on a floor. As such, thedehumidifier body 100 may be moved easily with less effort when comparedto a case in which the dehumidifier 100 is lifted and moved directly.

Also, the dehumidifier body 100 may include a display 120 thatexternally displays an operation state of the dehumidifier body 100 orcontrols an operation of the dehumidifier body 100.

The display 120 may be disposed in front of the outlet 104 on the uppersurface of the dehumidifier body 100.

For example, the display 120 may include a display member and a controlmember. The display member may display the operation state of thedehumidifier body 100. The control member may control the operation ofthe dehumidifier body 100 or the display 120.

A heat exchanger 200 may be disposed in the dehumidifier body 100.

The heat exchanger 200 may include an evaporator 210, a condenser 220, ablower 230, and a compressor 240.

The evaporator 210 may be a heat exchanger that removes moisture fromhumid air A suctioned through the inlet 102 and disposed adjacent to theinlet 102 in the dehumidifier body 100. The evaporator 210 may include alow-temperature refrigerant that is heat-exchanged with air passingthrough the evaporator 210.

Thus, the humid air A may be cooled to a temperature below the dew pointwhile passing through the evaporator 210. Also, the moisture containedin the humid air A may form a droplet on a surface of the evaporator 210and fall along the surface of the evaporator 210.

In this example, a dehumidification water tray 212 may be disposed belowthe evaporator 210 to collect dehumidification water. As shown in FIG.3, the dehumidification water generated on the surface of the evaporator210 may move from the surface of the evaporator 210 toward thedehumidification water tray 212.

The condenser 220 may be disposed at one side from the evaporator 210such that the air dehumidified in the evaporator 210 is transferred tothe condenser 220.

The condenser 220 may be disposed between the evaporator 210 and theoutlet 104 to be spaced apart from the evaporator 210 in parallel to anexhaust direction.

The blower 230 may be a device for forcibly blowing air, and may bedisposed on an air passage formed between the inlet 102 and the outlet104. For example, the blower 230 may be disposed between the condenser220 and a rear surface of the dehumidifier body 100, so that the airpassing through the condenser 220 s is guided by the blower 230 towardthe outlet 104. It is obvious that various kinds of blowing fans may beused as the blower 230 depending on a design and a condition of thedehumidifier 10.

The compressor 240 may be a device for compressing a refrigerant, andmay be disposed on a refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerantflows from the evaporator 210 to the condenser 220. For example, thecompressor 240 may receive the refrigerant from the evaporator 210,compress the refrigerant at a high temperature and a high pressure, andtransfer the compressed refrigerant to the condenser 220.

In the dehumidifier 10, the dehumidification water generated on thesurface of the evaporator 210 may be removed from the surface of theevaporator 210 due to a vibration of the compressor 240.

Specifically, the dehumidifier 10 may further include a vibrationtransfer member 300 that transfers the vibration generated in thecompressor 240 to the evaporator 210.

The vibration transfer member 300 may include a refrigerant line 310connecting, for example, the evaporator 210 and the compressor 220.

One end of the refrigerant line 310 may be connected to the compressor220 and the other end of the refrigerant line 310 may be connected tothe evaporator 210, so that the vibration generated in the compressor220 is transferred to the evaporator 210.

Through this, the vibration generated in the compressor 240 may betransferred to the evaporator 210 through the refrigerant line 310, sothat the dehumidification water generated on the surface of theevaporator 210 moves from the surface of the evaporator 210 toward thedehumidification water tray 212 as illustrated in FIG. 3. As such, whilethe dehumidifier 10 is in operation, the dehumidification watergenerated on the surface of the evaporator 210 is naturally removed fromthe evaporator 210.

Also, the vibration transfer member 300 may include a housing 320.

The housing 320 may be disposed in the dehumidifier body 100 to acceptthe evaporator 210 and the compressor 240 therein.

Additionally, the housing 320 may further include the condenser 220 atone side from the evaporator 210. Depending on an example, the condenser220 may be disposed inside the housing 320 or outside the housing 320.

Specifically, the evaporator 210 and the condenser 220 may be disposedin an upper part of the housing 320, and the compressor 240 may bedisposed in a lower part of the housing 320.

The housing 320 and the compressor 240 may be connected to each other.

Through this, the vibration generated in the compressor 240 may betransferred to the housing 320 and transferred to the evaporator 210included in the housing 320, so that the dehumidification watergenerated on the surface of the evaporator 210 moves from the surface ofthe evaporator 210 toward the dehumidification water tray 212 asillustrated in FIG. 3. As such, while the dehumidifier 10 is inoperation, the dehumidification water generated on the surface of theevaporator 210 is naturally removed from the evaporator 210.

The aforementioned configuration of the vibration transfer member 300 isnot to be taken as being limited thereto, and any configuration capableof effectively transferring the vibration generated in the compressor220 to the evaporator 210 may be applicable here.

The dehumidifier 10 may further include a vibration absorbing member 400that absorbs the vibration generated in the compressor 240.

The vibration absorbing member 400 may be disposed on a bottom surfacein the dehumidifier body 100.

Specifically, the vibration absorbing member 400 may include a damper410, a grommet 420, and a fixing element 430.

The damper 410 may connect a lower surface of the housing 320 and thebottom surface of the dehumidifier body 100. The damper 410 mayvertically extend from the bottom surface of the dehumidifier body 100toward the lower surface of the housing 320, so that the housing 320 andthe bottom surface of the dehumidifier body 100 are fixed to be spaceapart from each other.

The grommet 420 may be spaced apart from the damper 410 such that thelower surface of the housing 320 is located therebetween. Through this,the grommet 420 may be disposed inside the housing 320 and the damper410 may be disposed outside the housing 320. Also, the grommet 420 mayextend in a longitudinal direction of the damper 410 and disposed on thesame axis as the damper 410.

The grommet 420 may allow the compressor 240 to be spaced apart from thelower surface of the housing 320 and prevent the compressor 240 beingdirectly fixed to the housing 320.

The fixing element 420 may fix the compressor 240 in the housing 320 andextend from an inner surface of the housing 320 toward a side surface ofthe compressor 240 through the grommet 420. Any number and arrangementof fixing elements 420 that allow the compressor 240 to be stably fixedin the housing 320 may be applicable here.

The vibration generated in the compressor 240 may be effectivelyabsorbed by the vibration absorbing member 400, for example, the damper410 or the grommet 420. Accordingly, the vibration generated in thecompressor 240 may be prevented from being transferred to thedehumidifier body 100, and may be transferred to only the evaporator240.

The aforementioned configuration of the vibration absorbing member 400is not to be taken as being limited thereto, and any configurationcapable of preventing the vibration generated in the housing 320,specifically, generated in the compressor 240 from being transferred tothe dehumidifier body 100 may be applicable here.

As such, a dehumidifier may effectively remove moisture (ordehumidification water) generated on a surface of a heat exchanger (forexample, the dehumidifier) therefrom using a vibration of a compressorand quickly remove the moisture (or dehumidification water) generated onthe surface of the heat exchanger (for example, the dehumidifier),thereby improving a heat exchange efficiency and improving adehumidification performance or dehumidification efficiency of thedehumidifier.

A number of example embodiments have been described above. Nevertheless,it should be understood that various modifications may be made to theseexample embodiments. For example, suitable results may be achieved ifthe described techniques are performed in a different order and/or ifcomponents in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit arecombined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by othercomponents or their equivalents. Accordingly, other implementations arewithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A dehumidifier comprising: a dehumidifier body having an inletthrough which air is suctioned and an outlet through which dehumidifiedair is discharged to an outside; an evaporator disposed in thedehumidifier body to remove moisture in the air suctioned through theinlet; and a compressor connected to the evaporator in the dehumidifierbody to compress a refrigerant for exchanging heat with the air in theevaporator, wherein dehumidification water is generated on a surface ofthe evaporator and the dehumidification water is removed from thesurface of the evaporator due to a vibration of the compressor.
 2. Thedehumidifier of claim 1, further comprising: a housing configured toaccommodate the evaporator and the compressor therein, wherein thehousing is attached to a bottom surface of the dehumidifier body.
 3. Thedehumidifier of claim 2, further comprising: a vibration absorbingmember disposed in the dehumidifier body to absorb the vibrationgenerated in the compressor, wherein the vibration absorbing membercomprises: a damper configured to connect a lower surface of the housingand the bottom surface of the dehumidifier body; a grommet spaced apartfrom the damper, the lower surface of the housing being locatedtherebetween; and a fixing element configured to fix the compressor inthe housing, and the vibration is absorbed by the damper or the grommet.4. The dehumidifier of claim 2, further comprising: a vibration transfermember configured to transfer the vibration generated in the compressorto the evaporator, wherein the vibration transfer member comprises thehousing or a refrigerant line configured to connect the compressor andthe evaporator.
 5. The dehumidifier of claim 2, wherein adehumidification water tray is disposed below the evaporator in thehousing and the dehumidification water moves from a surface of theevaporator toward the dehumidification water tray.
 6. The dehumidifierof claim 2, further comprising: a condenser disposed in the housing tobe spaced apart from the evaporator in parallel to an exhaust direction.7. A dehumidifier comprising: a dehumidifier body having an inletthrough which air is suctioned and an outlet through which dehumidifiedair is discharged to an outside; a housing mounted in the dehumidifierbody; an evaporator disposed in an upper part of the housing to removemoisture in air suctioned from the outside; and a compressor disposed ina lower part of the housing to compress a refrigerant for exchangingheat with the air in the evaporator, wherein the evaporator and thecompressor are connected to each other such that a vibration generatedin the compressor is transferred to the evaporator.
 8. The dehumidifierof claim 7, wherein the dehumidifier body comprises: a damper configuredto connect a lower surface of the housing and a bottom surface of thedehumidifier body; a grommet spaced apart from the damper, the lowersurface of the housing being located therebetween; and a fixing elementconfigured to extend from an inner surface of the housing toward a sidesurface of the compressor through the grommet, wherein the damper or thegrommet is configured to absorb the vibration generated in thecompressor.
 9. The dehumidifier of claim 7, wherein dehumidificationwater is generated on a surface of the evaporator and the vibration ofthe compressor is transferred to the evaporator such that thedehumidification water is removed from the surface of the evaporator.